Shoe tree



H. CLAUSING Oct. 3l, 1944.

sHoE TREE Filed Jan. 15, 1943 IN V EN TOR.

Clausing Patented Oct. 31, 1944 Henry. amusing, Portsmouth, oma, assignor. t,

Volcan (loriwration;v Portsmouth,r 01nd a; corporation off Ohio;

application January 15, 1943s,; senaifvnoguenof s: claims. `Lor., 12T-12am This` inventionrelatesI to a, shoe tree and particularlfy to that' typeof treewhich isf adjustable as to length, thus to adapt it. for use irr shoes of various length sizes; and whiclr also resii'iently expansible transversely in its. fore part portion.

The number and the complication ot the. component partsv of the shoe tree:- embod'y'r-ig`J the inventiorlA has. beengreatlyreduced. Furthermore the construction and inter-relation oil lits various.

elements are such that it consistently performs ments, a heel. part, ay fore part and astrut' membervr situated between and connectedL to each of the other elements- The heel part preferablyds` made adjustable along the strut member. A suitable means for such adjustments: is provided byv forming a threaded connection therebetween. In thisv manner the heel part maybe ad-'ustedl alongjtlie strut member to lengthen orr shorten the tree by rotating it in the same manner as a nn-t-l is rotated upon a bolt. The rear faeeof thefheel part4 is shapedI to lit. into the heel ot' the shoe and snugly engaged' substantially the whole height" of the inner face of the rear extremity of the; shoe upper. l

The fore part is contoured; to fit'v the slice fore part and is divided lengthwise into two sections which are rela-tively laterally movable. The two sections are held together and. guided i-n their lateral movements by a. pair off transversely* exrtending pins. Desirably one of the pins may be utilized as an axisl uponv which the' strut member ispivoted. This pivotal connection between the fore part and the strut mer-:tittenenablesv the heel part to be moved downwardly* intoL the heel'- part of' the shoe whenl insertingl tliev tree therein and also permits lifting of the heel-4 partf ontv of; the shoe when. removing the tree therefrom.

The forward end of the strut member is probe receivedf shoes'. of' a;v varietxrol sizes. Moreovera suicient degree of lateral.vx expansive movementv inf the; tore; pant. ie provided tot enable the tree tol-function. eicieritlw shoes havingv a varietif" of" widthy sizes:

To presenta better understanding ot' the invention. a preferred-S embodimenttl'rereoi will now bedescrlbedi'n connection with; tlieaccompanying drawing inwhich:y

Fig: lfu lslaperspective View'ifti"le-slraer tree embodying the invention'.

Fig; 2`s a plan otthei shoe treeiilustrating its lateral com-pressibility.

Figa 3l 'is a. transverse sectional view` online 3:-3 Fig'. 2.

Fig; 4 ls aI transverse sect-ionen line Fig. 2.

Fig.- '5i illustrates a modi-ned? for-rn olif" the invention.

Wliile-ltfisI not essential` that` the Shoe tree of the present inventionr be made# or' wood? aa good grade oiwood is; however,V found to be-'aA highly satisfactory materialii from which to make the tree. Inasmuclr asewood" is ak none'ssential material in the production of' militaryl goods itsl use f fOrthepreSentpurpOSe is highly desirable. Other materials suclr as moulded Vtyliastioso having similar characteristics to that/of wood may also be employed? in the manufacture ortho tree.

A desirable means for manufacturing the fore part 5 ofthe tree is 11o-turn' it from. ay model upon a copying lathe such as a last lathe or any automatic' contour lathe. After turningthe fore part it is given a smooth surface: and is bored' transverselyf at itsI its mid-section to form anaperture li within which a guide pin 1? is received-1 The fore part desirably extends rearward to a plane a short distance baci:v ofits balil portion` 8r and; desirably islroundedrtopresent a semlrcylindrical boss portion 9 within whichanother aperture Hl` is bored toI receive` a pivot pin l 1f.

The boss4 portion SilasI formed* therein a recess k I2 substantially centrally of its transverse dimenvidedlwith a pair of'spacedresilientgures which extend'between the sections of theforeipartwhich impart transverse resilient expansive force there'- to. The expansive force thus impartedv to the ibre part insures proper correction of distortions 'which may exist in the shoe and` acts to preserve the originall contours thereof. The lengthwise adjustment above referred to adaptstlie last to sion. The fore'part 5 is divided" lengthwise into two sections` in any desirable; manner as for, instance by a stra-ight saw c ut toa substantially centralL vertical median plane. The two sections f3- and I4` are normally held in spaced relation by meansV hereinafter to y be described'.

The heel part I6 desirablyif's cut from at stock Y, ofsuch thickness that the liearface f1 thereofy may be satisfactorily shaped to. fit they inner face of the rearv portion oi' the shoeupper and to engage a substantial area, thereof. ,''he, heelpart is provided with a substantialliyvhori'aontal"v aperture I'8 having internal screw threads cut therein for at least a portion of its length. The rear portion of the strut member i has threads complementary to those in the aperture I8. By interengaging the threads in the heel part with those upon the strut member an eilicient means is provided for adjusting the length of the shoe tree.

The heel part IB desirably is made symmetrical with respect tothe. axis of its .ap.f 1 31lre l 8 and is provided with@ a-pairlI of nnger holes I9 which facilitate removal" of the tree from the shoe. The symmetrical conformation of the heel part insures that it will function equally well in either of 'its two vertical positions thereby providing foriad'ev i f justing the shoe tree length in increments of onehalf of the pitch of the screvif'threafdsl" f The forward portion of't "e strut 'member' I5 I .Ther fingers may; be. separate l elements secured to thexstrut member but preferably` areintegral l therewithy A suitable method of constructing the strut to provide these resilient fingers is;ito. cut a slot 2| ofrsubstantial'width centrally along its axis,1in=itsenlargedend portion V,opposite its threaded end,Y thereby -toj vpresent 4vspaced* integral fingers 20 yupon the strut member- I5.v yThe proportions.v of the ingers 20 Vare calculated to pro- 1 30 v ciently and reduce -wear of the parts occasioned .by; manipulation of thetree when inserting-cr vide the correct degree of'lf'resiliency.

The ffingers 20 project into the recess I2 in the forepart between its two :sections 13A-and I4. The outside lateralydimension of theY forward end of the strut member is such that-fit; willr" erelatively large. v l Afurther advantagefof Ithe angular disposition of thefacesZ resides in the fact that they con-` closely fit withinthesrecess l2 when ithe -two .sections 1' of the `foretpaltI A I 3` and I4: are` at .their maximum separation. i

i The fingers 20 desirably. a1so serve'to `:connect ythe fore-part.togthe strutfflThe outer ends 0h40 the fingers are bored. to provide aligned transverse 1 apertures 2 2 throughr-whichrthe; pivot pin II extends. The apertures 22--are somewhat v larger-in diameter than the-'pin `II Ithereliypmoviding axlimitedgamount of;adjustment ir 1 longi 45 tudinal` alignment between Vthe .fore part andfthe `.heel part. This flexibility of alignmentwillperonly do the. sections 'of the forefpalkhavelateral movement vbut vtheir interconnecting elements; are so designed that the relativelongitudinal alignl ment of each section may. adjust itself to shoes of various contours'.

f A 3. The'transverse relative movement between the sections .I3 andullrnay be provided.- for in ,any `desired manner.. A suitablemeans Ito accomplish 1.6.5 -this end is illustrated inthe drawing wherein the pins Y'I and I,I are rigidly :anchored in `their respective apertures 5. and; II) within .-one ofthe fore `part sections, `for example section I3.. The

` other ends. of the pins I and ,tl-- `project -into 7 0 aligned portions ,offtheir apertures situated in the section Ill. ofthe fore part,v The-apertures in sectionV Il have beeny enlar-gedmsufficientlyA to looselyreceiverthepins.

The Die 1..,iDI0-vided With@tangier-retaining .7,5

the. sections I3 and I4 from becoming completely disengaged one from the other. A suitable means for accomplishing this result is to provide the cientlyviargeufreely to receive the head 23 and Afurthermore the* counterbore preferably extends inward a substantial distance to present a retaining shoulder 24 against which the head 23 bears.

tively close to the inner face of the section I4 of This shoulder preferably is situated relathe fore part.` -The headed pin means above describedforconnecting the two fore part sectiens;.I3fandv I,4 ;"'permits relative angular movement'between'the sections as well as lateral expansion and contraction.

The side walls 25 of the recess I2 are disposed at' a slightly divergent angle as are also the in- .ner faces .26 ofithelfingers .26.; v There are several advantages which flow from this construction,-:.By'referring to Fig. 2 it will be notedthat .l-whenthefore.partisfcontractem the outer faces of' the fingers 20 whichengagefthe inner walls e 25 of the'recess I2 will be' foundto interengage .for substantially the -fulllengthof vthe faces 25 l,because they assume substantially parallelv positionsf This position of -the partsprovides broad interengagingsurfaces whichwill function eilirembving it fromthefshoa Excessive wear and abrasion of the parts is avoided by thus insuring .that theiareavof thev .interengaging surfaces is tactthelsections of ;the fore partsvat a position .well :forwardof,therear extremity thereof and .substantially upon-al central plane 2'! ofv the ball A.1;zo1tior 1- -8 of `the laste.. By engaging the fore part l s ecticnsat this .plane the expansive `forcaof thespring fingers is applied at the .ball portion of the shoe Iwhichis the most Aeffective vposition forthexapplication of theexpanding pressure.

y :The angular faces Vlllof thespring Afingers permit the outer faces thereof to approach each other -m-ore: closely therebyg'increasingthe total 'scope 4of expansion of the fore part without increasing the .dimensions of the co-acting parts.

In 5 is.` shown a modified form of the invention wherein the strut member I5 extends a substantial `distanceforward along the length of ,the fore part Sand is'pivotally connected thereto upon an axis 3I substantially midway length .wise thereof. The construction of the fore part 41sv otherwise the. sainev as that shown in Fig. .-2.

Theangularly vdisposedfaces 25cf the recess vI2 vare of necessity elongated but function in the same manner as described: hereinabove. -By thus positioningvthe vaxis 3l, thespring fingers 20 engage the sections ofgthe forepart suviciently for- `:Ward thereof to insure-that -a substantial portion of the expansive force of thefingers will be trans- .the shoe. As the tree'enters the vshoe the fore .partsections are compressed which sets up lat- .eral tensioniuthc lingers `2 0 which tensien'in turn is transferred to the shoe upper acting to smooth out wrinkles therein and to generally correct distortion and preserve the original shoe contours.

If the length of the tree is not correct for the shoe to which it is applied the heel part is rotated in one direction or the other until the correct length is found. The heel part is then pushed into its operating position bearing rmly against the inner face of the heel part of the shoe upper. The inserti-on and removal of the heel part is made possible by reason of the pivoted connection between the strut I and the fore part 5.

The finger holes I9 greatly assists in removing the tree from the shoe and furthermore provide a convenient means for hanging the tree upon a hook or other supporting means.

It may be found desirable to supplement the expansion of the fore part as set up by the 1in-l gers 20. This may be done by applying expansive pressure between the sections I3 and I I at or adjacent the axis of the pin 'I. This may be done in any suitable manner as by employing a coil expansion spring 29 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, which may surround the pin and bear upon the inner face of the fore part sections. To providethe necessary space for the coils of the spring when the fore part is compressed a chamber 30 may be provided in one or both of the sections I3 and I 4.

In addition to the advantages above disclosed the present invention presents a very attractive appearance, is extremely simple to adjust and apply to the shoe and moreover has no metallic parts to cause abrasion or disgurement of the shoe upper in which it is used.

I claim:

1. An all wo-od shoe tree comprising a heel part, a fore part longitudinally divided into two trans- Versely expansible sections, a strut member be-l tween and connected to said heel and fore parts and having at least two laterally resilient spaced fingers integral therewith the outer ends of which extend between the sections of said fore part and act to impart resilient transverse expansive fo-rce thereto and means to adjust the length of the tree.

2. An all wood shoe tree comprising a heel part, a fore part divided lengthwise into two transversely relatively movable sections, an interconnecting strut member pivoted to said fore part, means for adjusting said heel part along said strut member, at least two resilient fingers integral with said strut member the outer ends of which extend between the sections of said fore part and impart transverse resiliency thereto.

3; An all wood shoe tree comprising a heel part, a fore part shaped to t a shoe fore part and divided lengthwise into the two transversely relatively movable sections, a strut member interconnecting said heel and fore parts, means at the rear end `of said strut for adjusting said heel part lengthwise thereof, a slot at the forward end of said strut dividing it into a pair of laterally yielding fingers the outer ends of which extend between the sections of said fore part and impart resilient transverse expansive force thereto and a pivot pin secured in said fore part and projecting through apertures in said iingers thereby to provide a pivotal connection between said strut and said fore part.

4. A shoe tree of wood or plastic material comprising a heel part, a fore part, an interconnecting strut member, means for adjusting the length of the tree, said fore part being divided lengthwise into two sections, means for guiding said sections relatively laterally including a, pivot pin,

said strut member having a slot in its forward portion dividing it into a pair of integral spaced laterally resilient fingers projecting between and imparting resilient expansive force t0 said fore part sections and having apertures therein through which said pivot pin passes thereby providing a pivotal connection between said strut and said fore part.

5. A shoe tree of wood or plastic material comprising a heel part shaped to t a shoe heel part, a fore Dart divided lengthwise into two sections, a strut member connecting said heel and fore parts, means for adjusting the length of the shoe tree, a slot in the forward end of said strut member presenting a pair of spaced transversely resilient fingers the outer ends of which project between and impart resilient expansive force to the sections of said fore part, a guide pin loosely connecting and guiding the forward ends of said fore part sections in relative transverse movement and a pivot pin rigidly xed in one of said fore part sections and loosely received in the other section 

